


Clockwork

by LulaLuna



Series: ATEEZ One Shots [2]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Clocks, Evil, Gen, M/M, Superpowers, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:29:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22416283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LulaLuna/pseuds/LulaLuna
Summary: ATEEZ are superheroes working to take down a supervillain named Clockwork. They all begin to worry as the villain attempts to drive a rift in their team.
Relationships: Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Series: ATEEZ One Shots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607476
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38





	Clockwork

**Author's Note:**

> Powers:  
> Hongjoong - Telekinesis  
> Seonghwa - Ice Manipulation  
> Yunho - Invisibility  
> Yeosang - Psychometry  
> San - Shapeshifting  
> Mingi - Super Speed  
> Wooyoung - Teleportation  
> Jongho - Super Strength

"When I see you next, it's your time that will be stopped."

Hongjoong visibly shakes with anger as Clockwork slips away into the shadows, once again. His teammates Yeosang and Wooyoung look on in horror as well.

The villain turns around, his cloak swaying behind him. His feet move towards the shadows, as he's about to disappear once again. ATEEZ had been chasing the villain for quite some time, but they haven't managed to put a dent in him. It was frustrating to say the least, Hongjoong thinks, this evil bastard was making the heroes look bad and causing chaos in their city.

Clockwork's figure fades and he's about to slip out from their fingertips for what seems like the thousandth time.

At the last second, Hongjoong is able to use whatever motor function he has left in his hand to use his powers. He isn't able to do much but he knows he did something to the villain when he hears the faint sound of a tear. Clockwork doesn't notice when something falls out of his attire and disappears as quickly as he appeared.

Wooyoung is the first to be able to move one of his limbs after Clockwork disappears. The youngest of the trio is able to move one of his legs forward as the other two are still struggling.

After a few minutes, Wooyoung is free while Yeosang and Hongjoong have exactly one arm and one leg frozen respectively. The teleporter walks over to where the item had dropped from Clockwork's cloak.

"It's a pocket watch", Wooyoung says, picking up the item. He grabs it with his sleeve, trying not to get any fingerprints on it.

Hongjoong and Yeosang make their way over, the former slower than the latter, due to his frozen leg. 

"A pocket watch?", Yeosang asks. The psychometric was wearing gloves so he grabs the pocket watch and examines it.

"It definitely looks fancy", Hongjoong says.

"Are you going to read it?", Wooyoung asks Yeosang.

"Not here", Yeosang responds.

"Let's get back then", Hongjoong says. The other two nod and all 3 head back to their headquarters, ready to be away from their current hellhole location.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hongjoong, Yeosang, and Wooyoung stumble back into the ATEEZ meeting room, fresh from getting their injuries checked at the clinic. They were cleared and made their way to the rest of the team.

"I can't believe we were lured out there like that", Wooyoung says.

"It's like we're nothing but toys to him or something", Yeosang says.

Mingi and Yunho help the two into chairs. Hongjoong stands at the end of the table.

"We are", Hongjoong says.

Yeosang and Wooyoung know he's right. Clockwork is playing with them like it's a game. A game that they're losing.

"I couldn't even feel anything...it almost felt like I wasn't there", Wooyoung says.

Hongjoong slams his fist down on the table. "That's exactly what he wants. He wants to "stop time" for people. Erase them, even."

"It's sickening", Yunho says.

"When I felt it, I thought my limbs were going to fall off", Jongho says.

"So, what do we do?", Seonghwa asks.

Hongjoong looks around at his teammates' down expressions. "I won't allow any of you guys to get hurt again. I will take out Clockwork."

They all look over at their leader, as if he just said the craziest thing any of them had ever heard.

"No, the hell, you won't", Yunho says, "Teamwork is the key here."

"I have to. It's my job as leader to make sure you guys stay safe."

"Uh, no. Your job as leader is to keep this team together", San interjects.

Hongjoong looks at San then at Yunho. He sighs heavily. "I don't know what to do with you guys."

"Just stay with us and figure it out", Mingi speaks up.

Hongjoong nods and smiles lightly. He still feels a pang of guilt for allowing his teammates to get hurt but he knows they will make it through it.

"Team dismissed", Hongjoong says.

With that, some of the members leave the room and disperse in separate directions. As for Yeosang, he stops Wooyoung from leaving. Hongjoong looks confused as only the 3 of them remain and Yeosang closes the door.

"I have something to say", Yeosang says the second the door closes.

Hongjoong and Wooyoung wear expressions of confusion but encourage the other to continue.

"I think Clockwork may be someone from inside the HQ", the psychometric says.

Hongjoong's eyes widen as Wooyoung looks even more confused. "What?", Wooyoung says.

"Clockwork is an HQ employee. Whether it be hero, or office worker, I'm not sure yet."

"Why do you think this is an inside job?", Wooyoung says.

"And why are you only telling me and Wooyoung?", Hongjoong asks.

Yeosang sighs. "I read the last 3 crime scenes and the only thing I could see connecting all of them was the HQ. It had to have been someone here. And I'm only trusting you guys because you're the only 2 that I've fought Clockwork with. We were all in the same room, it can't be one of us."

Wooyoung and Hongjoong look at eachother. "That makes sense", Hongjoong says.

"We will figure this out and make our move after our next encounter", Yeosang says.

Wooyoung and Hongjoong both nod approvingly.

"Please no one do anything stupid until then", Yeosang requests. Wooyoung nods quickly while Hongjoong hesitates but ultimately nods.

Yeosang looks between the two before nodding himself. He turns around and makes his way out the door. Wooyoung quickly follows, not really knowing where to go next.

Hongjoong sighs. "I'm sorry guys, but I can't risk anyone else getting hurt."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hongjoong didn't expect to meet Clockwork at a dingy old abandoned house but here they were.

"You thought you could take me on your own,  _ hero _ ?", Clockwork says, practically spatting the word "hero".

Hongjoong is unwavering, however, as he stands his ground. He stands across from the villain, looking straight into the holes of his mask that house his eyes.

"I just didn't want my team to get hurt because of you", Hongjoong says, "So I decided I was going to take you out myself."

"How noble of you", Clockwork says.

Hongjoong weighs his options. Sneaking up is out of the question so a direct hit may be the only option. Now if he can land a hit before he's frozen is a different question…

"What are you going to do?", Clockwork asks.

Hongjoong answers him by lifting a chair and throwing it at him. Clockwork quickly rolls to the side and dodges it.

"Missed me", the villain says, running towards Hongjoong.

Before Hongjoong can process it, he's being thrown into a wall. The pain hits him almost immediately. Everything feels like it's broken but at the same time, everything is numb.

"You have to try harder than that", Clockwork says as Hongjoong stands up.

Hongjoong attempts to do the same thing the villain just did, which is running towards his opponent. However, just as he's about halfway, he feels his body start to freeze. A familiar cold feeling takes over his body.

"Fuck", Hongjoong says as his limbs freeze in place. He sees Clockwork's masked face but he knows the other is smirking under the mask.

"What did you hope to accomplish on your own?", Clockwork asks.

"I will protect them. Especially from the likes of you."

"You are nothing without them. Weak."

"Maybe...but if I can't get you, they certainly will."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before leaving them behind."

Hongjoong grows angry, although his face, besides his eyes are frozen at that point. He wants nothing more than to punch Clockwork in the face at that moment.

"Time is ticking, Kim Hongjoong", the villain says.

Hongjoong's eyes widen as he hears his name slip from the other's tongue.

"How did you-"

"Tick."

Police sirens ring from down the street. Hongjoong's eyes flutter open and shut as he sees the villain slips away before he can say anything else. In his head, he cursed Clockwork for escaping him yet again.

As the villain disappears from sight, Hongjoong can feel his body start to have feeling again. The police sirens get closer but Hongjoong can only stand there and stare until his body returns to normal.

His entire body is frozen, like it was the last few times he had encountered Clockwork. He was cold, and he was in pain, although the entirety of his body being rendered immobile did dull some of the pain from being thrown into a wall.

The police sirens are extremely loud as Hongjoong hears them pull up to the building. He can only pray that they get here before the pain gets worse.

His prayers aren't answered quickly however and he collapses to the ground, injuries taking over as he hears the stomps of footsteps busting in through the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hongjoong's eyes open slowly. Every fiber in his body tells him something is wrong.

He looks around at his surroundings to see nothing but bright white. The ceiling was white, the walls are white, even his bed is white. As he looks around further, he notices he's hooked up to some kind of machine. He lets out a sigh of relief. He's in the hero HQ's clinic.

Within a few seconds, he hears the door to the room open. His eyes dart to it, only slightly moving his head to do so. He first sees Seonghwa's worried expression as it comes closer to him.

Seonghwa quickly rushes over to Hongjoong's side, giving him a look of hurt. He silently mouths "are you okay?"

Hongjoong nods and sighs. He looks over at his other teammates as they come through the door. Almost all of them wear looks of worry on their faces. Yunho, more than the others, bares anger on his.

"Why would you go after him alone?!", Yunho yells loudly. Seonghwa helps Hongjoong sit up in the bed to face his other teammates. Yeosang grabs Yunho's arm and pulls him backwards.

"That's enough, Yunho", the psychometric says. Yeosang looks over at Hongjoong and then back to Yunho, who looks down at him as well.

Yunho looks like he's about to open his mouth but Wooyoung cuts him off. "Let's not lose our heads now", he says.

Yunho lets out a loud, annoyed sigh but ultimately nods. He Yanks his arm out of Yeosang's grip and goes to stand at the back of the group. 

"I'm fine", Hongjoong says, "I just got carried away with Clockwork."

The group all look at one another, still not convinced.

"I'm gonna crush that bastard next time I see him", Jongho says.

Hongjoong looks at the youngest and says, "That's my line."

Mingi interrupts. "Please just promise us you won't run off and fight a villain on your own again. We're a team after all."

Hongjoong turns his attention to his speedy teammate. "Mingi...I'm sorry. I can't make promises like that, but I will make sure to keep you guys in the loop more. Be more transparent. As you said, we are a team after all."

Mingi looks a little unconvinced due to the first part but smiles anyway. The rest of the team move closer to Hongjoong's bed. 

"We will be waiting for you to rejoin the team as soon as you're healed up", San says.

Hongjoong nods. "I'm already feeling pretty fixed up already. I miss my own bed."

"You've only been here a day", Wooyoung says with a small chuckle.

A nurse comes in, interrupting the friends' conversation although it quickly picks up again.

"They've lost Clockwork for now", Yeosang says, "He seems to have gone off the radar for the last 24 hours since you ended up here."

Hongjoong raises an eyebrow. "Really?"

Yeosang nods. "We will find him soon, though."

"You better", Hongjoong says, "So I can kick his ass."

Seonghwa smiles down at him, as Yeosang nods. "Sounds like a plan", Yeosang says.

The nurse comes over to look at Hongjoong's arm.

"Am I allowed to go home?", Hongjoong asks the nurse, unexpectedly. His teammates all give similar looks of confusion.

The nurse looks over at the monitor. "Hongjoong, your vitals are stable and your wounds have closed up thanks to our healers so you are free to leave when you please."

Hongjoong nods. "Thank you."

Jongho looks at the nurse then at Hongjoong. "You don't really look that great, dude."

Hongjoong narrows his eyes lightly. "Wow...thanks."

Jongho shrugs his shoulders. "I said what I said."

Yeosang interjects as well. "Please stay a few days longer, we have to make sure that you're 100% healthy before taking you home."

Hongjoong looks at his teammates, looking over their different facial expressions, ranging from Yeosang's worry to Mingi's confusion. He sighs before shaking his head.

"I want to go back home", Hongjoong says.

Yeosang defeatedly looks down. "Hongjoong-", he starts.

Hongjoong cuts him off by sitting up, however. "Yeosang, you can't stop me."

The younger knows it and tries to say something before ultimately deciding to stay silent. Hongjoong moves his legs to dangle them off the side of the bed. The nurse comes over to unhook him from the machine.

Seonghwa helps Hongjoong stand up and put his shoes back on. The nurse hands Hongjoong all of his belongings in a bag.

"Let's get you home", Seonghwa says, wrapping his arm under Hongjoong's to prop him up a bit better. He looks back at his remaining teammates before helping the leader out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ The next day... _

San takes a gloved hand and pulls the pocket watch out of the plastic bag it resided in. He carefully places it on the table in front of Yeosang.

"Your turn", San says. Yeosang nods.

He picks up the pocket watch and closes his eyes, letting images flood into his mind. The familiar feeling rushes over him as he lets it take over.

_ It's cold. It's dark. Everything feels so...empty. _

_ Yeosang slowly opens his eyes. He's in a dark, worn down room. He looks around even more to realize he isn't alone. _

_ He scans the two figures, easily recognizing Clockwork's mask. But the other figure was unfamiliar to him. _

_ "What do we do if those pesky heroes get in the way?", the unfamiliar guy asks. _

_ Clockwork lets out a soft, yet still maniacal sounding, laugh. "I can take care of them." _

_ "And if that doesn't work then...plan B?" _

_ "Don't take the option off the table", Clockwork says. The other masked figure nods before turning his heel. He quickly slips out the door before anything else can happen. _

_ Yeosang can feel the tension from where he stands. Something big was about to go down. Before Yeosang can have anymore thoughts, however, Clockwork begins walking towards him. He freezes. _

_ Clockwork walks straight through Yeosang, as if the other was not there. Yeosang breathes out when he remembers that he isn't actually there. He continues to watch the other's every move. _

_ He watches as the villain sighs and pull off his gloves. Clockwork then takes off his mask and places it on the table before picking up the pocket watch... _

As if on cue, Yeosang is brought back to reality. Everything hits him. He knows exactly what happened. He knows exactly who Clockwork is.

Yeosang lifts his hand up and stares at it in horror. "Oh my god", he says to himself.

San watches the shift in expression on the other's face. It was almost jarring how quick the change was. "Yeosang...what is it?"

Yeosang snaps his head up to look at San. "We have to get to Hongjoong. Now!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hongjoong hears the doorbell ring. It had only been a day since he had been released from the clinic and came back to his apartment. Wondering who it could be, he stands up to go answer the door.

Through the glass window next to the door, he could make out Seonghwa's blonde locks. He smiles as he turns the handle and pulls the door open.

"Park Seonghwa", Hongjoong says, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Seonghwa turns to look at Hongjoong as well and smiles. "I came to see you, cutie."

Hongjoong looks a bit taken aback by that statement. "I...uh…"

"Can I come in?"

Hongjoong shakes his head and brings himself back to reality. "Oh, of course."

He pulls the door open further, granting access to Seonghwa. The blonde steps in and starts looking around.

"Nice place", Seonghwa says.

Hongjoong chuckles. "I forget you haven't seen the new apartment yet."

"That I have not."

Hongjoong closes the door behind him. "So...did you come here for a reason?"

Seonghwa raises an eyebrow. "Do I need a reason to come see you?"

The telekinetic can feel a blush creeping up his cheeks. "I guess not."

Seonghwa tilts his head. "Are you feeling any better?"

Hongjoong breathes in heavily, now remembering the injuries he had sustained only a few days prior. "Yeah, still a bit stiff but getting better."

"Nothing can keep you down for long, huh?"

Hongjoong shrugs. "Just too powerful for villains it seems."

"Truly."

"Kim Hongjoong, immovable heroic wall."

Seonghwa chuckles before he lifts his arms, and stretches them out towards Hongjoong. The shorter hesitates before falling into Seonghwa's arms.

"I'm just so glad you're okay, Hongjoong", Seonghwa says, wrapping his arms around the shorter's shoulders.

Hongjoong smiles as he wraps his arms around Seonghwa's waist. "Thank you. Hopefully I'll be back to the team in no time."

"I hope so, too."

Hongjoong places his nose on Seonghwa's shoulder, allowing the other access to bury his face in the telekinetic's shoulder.

"We have to find Clockwork", Hongjoong says. He feels Seonghwa nod against his shoulder.

"Yeah."

Seonghwa turns his head and brings his face closer to Hongjoong's neck. The leader thinks nothing of it, just waiting for what the blonde will do next. He gets his wish when Seonghwa's lips brush over his earlobe and Hongjoong hears a soft whisper come from the other's mouth.

"Tock."

**Author's Note:**

> :)


End file.
